Suzie Messner and Youth Off The Streets

Mr TONY STEWART (Bankstown) [1.08 p.m.]: On 26 December 2004 a devastating tsunami hit areas of the Indian and Pacific oceans and killed hundreds of thousands of people and left many thousands homeless. Of course, members remember that event because they were involved with and supported the recovery efforts. The tsunami led to my involvement with Father Chris Riley of the Youth Off The Streets project. Father Riley and I went to Banda Aceh in Indonesia, where we helped to set up a temporary orphanage. That orphanage is now fully functional and is home to nearly 80 children. I returned from Banda Aced about a week ago. While I was there I spoke with our joint construction partners, Muhammadiyah, the second largest Islamic organisation in Indonesia. We are building a new orphanage, which is now nearly 50 per cent complete and will be completed by the end of this year. We are very proud to be able to utilise Australian generosity, help and support in this project.

Suzie Messner, who is leaving Youth Off The Streets, has provided a great deal of support for the orphanage project. She has worked with Father Riley for the past eight years or so and has given up countless hours to help keep the project going and to ensure that Father Riley and I could go to Indonesia to make the impossible possible. I thank her for her contribution to Youth Off The Streets as Father Riley's personal assistant. Christine Bullivant, one of her colleagues, stated in an email:

When I look back on those crazy days I don't know how we did it.

Of course, she is talking about the tsunami. She continued:

Suzie and I divided up the jobs—she handled the Gov't and legalities and I took over the logistics of making it all happen.

From the day it was announced, we looked back and found that we worked 67 days straight, many of them being 12-15 hour days. We joked about bringing in our doonas and we lived on half priced pizzas delivered from the local shop.

Since then, Suzie has gone on to do many other wonderful things for Youth Off The Streets. Importantly, she has been the wind beneath Father Riley's wings in many ventures. Of course, she has had the support of her other colleagues. I wish her all the best in her new position in the Hunter valley. I know that whatever she does she will be successful and that she will ensure that any changes made will be changes for the good of humanity.